Breadth and Depth
In one of my first work projects, I worked with an automotive electronics firm, and its executives were trying to determine how much to invest in LED and LCD display technology — most dash displays were electromechanical gauges at that time, or simple lights. The details of the decision are not important, and I don’t even remember them. What I do remember is that the engineers in the trenches at the company knew the right answers, and no one was listening to them. All we had to do was talk to a bunch of front-line engineers; we interviewed 30-40, both inside and outside the company. And the answers became obvious after talking to just 4-5 people.
The people in the trenches are smart; they encounter and solve problems every day. 1000s of experiments are being run daily by the collective set of people on the front line, and the right answers are clearly bubbling up out of this experience. If you want to know how to solve your business’s problems, you need to talk to the people who are actually wrestling with the problem.
The other way to learn about your problems is from peer organizations or businesses. Whatever problem you have — some other organization has probably had it too, and probably solved it, and you can learn from their experience. The world is a big place, there are probably many many other people or organizations that have faced your problem. And no matter how smart you are, there are smarter people out there, and you can learn from their experience.
And so that is it. Steps 1 and 2 to solving any problem are
1) Look broadly. What organizations, cities, states, countries have faced this same problem? Which ones have performed the best in solving the problem? And what exactly did they do?
2) Look deeply. Talk to everyone who is on the front line of the problem, people in the trenches doing the work. What do they think should be done? The answer is probably there.
Government problem solving
It often feels like our governments are populated by people who don’t understand these basic principles. Michael Hatch wrote a good article on drug treatment in Seattle — The Right Side of Right. His core argument is that Seattle is spending a lot of money and failing to help people. San Francisco has implemented some simple common-sense laws to get people into treatment, and Seattle should do the same, but it has lacked the political will.
The income tax argument in Washington State is also suffering from a lack of attention to the problem. The problem is not “we don’t have enough money”. The problem is “we have a lot of money and we have spent it and have nothing to show for it”. Washington ranks #31 in K-12 education, and is falling. The state keeps crying for money, despite the evidence that other states rank more highly and spend less per student.
Someone needs to look broadly and deeply at this problem. I have no problem living in a high tax state but I expect great results. I want to know what districts in our state are doing a great job, what other states are doing a great job, and what districts are leading in those states. And then I want to know what exactly the leading districts are doing differently, and I want a plan to emulate those leading districts. Then and only then am I interested in hearing about new tax support.
Don’t take advice from your enemies
You know where you shouldn’t look for problem-solving guidance? From your enemies:
Taking advice from people who do not share your goals is and will always be a trick, and a waste of time. Stop it!
If you fear that you will miss something by not reading this style of essay, let me assuage your concerns. Here is the advice you will get in every single one: “My opponents should be more like me.” There you go. Never say I have not saved you time in your life.
Shorts
Three different sources have pointed me at WhatCable this week. It is awesome, and I’ve learned I have a bunch of crappy USB cables. These folks should certify cables — I’d love to see a “WhatCable Certified Platinum” sticker on a cable.